Sort App
Wrist Mounted wearable with a ring scanner for hands-free mobility and a headset for audio feedback. Allows users to perform different types of sorting operations.
Walmart Sort Centers are a key part of the Supply Chain logistics. Here packages will get sorted based on their final destination. This is a super high-phased operation since every shipment has to meet a cutoff time to keep our delivery promise to customers.
In the picture below you can see a manual sortation process of totes.
The pile of blue totes at the back of the picture is placed on the conveyance and manually sorted into pallets. This process is extremely inefficient and leads to a lot of errors.
Technology
Assisted sortation leverages technology to allow a fast error-free operation process. The technology consists of three parts:
The end-user looks something like this:
Well, maybe not that fancy. But you get the point.
Measuring Time
On average a sorter needs to be able to sort 200 packages per hour (18 seconds per package) for a facility being considered cost-efficient.
To make sure we hit this target we leverage MOST, a predetermined motion time system that is used to set the standard time in which a worker should perform a task. To calculate this, a task is broken down into individual motion elements, and each is assigned a numerical time value.
Visual and audio clues
In such a fast-phased workflow the UI needs to be glanceable. This means be able to inform without needing to read.
In addition to the visual clues, audio is used to inform success or errors.
The big picture
Of course, packages are not the only thing scanned on a sortation center, and depending on what a user scans a different flow is triggered.
In fact, things can get quite complicated.
